(Distributed July 18, 2006)

HERE’S A TIP: BELIEVE WHAT THESE POKER CHAMPIONS SAY

Learning to play better poker is easy. You just have to do two things — get some experience and listen to advice from top-notch players.

Here’s a batch of tips from three champion players who recently shared some of their knowledge with Ol’ LuckyDog.

(SET ITAL) CHRIS “JESUS” FERGUSON (END ITAL)

Ferguson, the most recognizable face in poker and winner of five World Series bracelets, says:

“Beginners play too many hands. Think about it: If you’re in first position in a nine-handed hold’em game, if you come into the pot you’re basically saying you have a hand that can beat eight opponents. That’s a pretty danged strong hand. To enter the pot in a full-ring hold’em game, you need to have a very strong hand from early position.

“Another mistake beginners make is they don’t really understand the concept of position. When someone raises from early position, that usually signals a strong hand. Meanwhile, if everyone folds to the player on the button (last position), he only needs a hand that can beat two opponents (the two blinds). Plus, he’s got position on both opponents.

“Always be aware of the position that raises come from.”

(SET ITAL) MARK SEIF (END ITAL)

Seif, the only double bracelet winner at last year’s World Series and co-host of the new Professional Poker Tour show on television, says:

“At World Poker Tour boot camps, the first thing I tell my students is to lose the sunglasses, lose the iPods, and lose the headphones. You’ve got to be a sponge at the table. The more you can focus, the more information you can take in, the better off you are by a mile.

“Poker is a game of incomplete information. You need to take in as much as possible, process it and analyze it. Then you have to be a smart person to come up with the right answer, because at the end of the day, as poker players, all we do is try to make correct decisions.

“I want as much information as possible to try to make those decisions. Leave your distractions at home and just play poker. If that’s the place you want to be more than any place else at that time, chances are you’re going to do pretty well.”

(SET ITAL) JIM DAVENPORT (END ITAL)

Davenport, online winner this year of the first $250,000 “Poker Pro for a Year” title against a huge field, says:

“So many people talk about patience, but online is the best game for patience because you see so many hands. If you take a big loss, it won’t be long before you find yourself in another big hand. I understand live players get bored and want to play more hands, but online you have no excuse for calling a raise with ace-rag. It’s such an awful hand.

“You just need to find something else to do when you play online. Have a TV going or be cooking, grab a magazine or book. I always sit down, get comfortable, and then find something else to do. I can’t just sit in front of my computer because if I do, I’ll play too many hands that I shouldn’t be playing.

“In major tournaments, I write down every hand. What that does is make me not play bad cards anymore. I also keep track of pots won and my tournament position at the time (15th of 134, etc.). Then, when I check the record I can see that I lost $5,000 chips protecting my big blind or playing pocket threes to the turn and river. I can look back and say, ‘That’s stupid.’ It wakes you up to the fact that K-Q and K-J often are not good hands.”

So, what’s my LuckyDog tip of the week? That’s easy. Listen to what these accomplished players are saying!

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2006 RUSS SCOTT
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